Sweating through a good time

Great crops

Great crops

July 13, 2007|By Connie Sieh Groop, Farm Forum Editor

The past few weeks have been intense as we hosted relatives on both sides of our family and enjoyed the 125th celebration of our town of Frederick as well as the Frederick all-school reunion. Whew! So much work goes into such celebrations! With temperatures above 100 degrees on Saturday, it was hard to appreciate all the work that went into the event. As people visited under the big tent set up just off main street, sweat would trickle down faces. But the joy in renewing old acquaintances was quite evident. Finding a cool place in the shade was next to impossible, through no fault of the organizers. Those on the committees who put together these special events in our town as well as the many other communities across the state are to be commended for their foresight as well as their stamina. Great job and thank you! Many families took the opportunity to gather for reunions at this time, too. Dale's side of the family brought together 50 plus relatives to get acquainted and learn about ancestors as well as cousins spread across the nation. It was neat to watch our daughters Katy and Alisha meet relatives and learn that they had many things in common. Scrapbooks, family trees and photos helped to provide a guide to see how all are linked. I was able to put faces with some of the names that I've heard through the years. And from the list of names, it appears that the “Groop” name is one that is in danger of disappearing. Male descendents to carry on the family name are very few! Great crops As a way to relax after the celebration, Dale and I took a tour of our area to look at crops. Around us, most of the corn looks great with good dark green color and stalks between 6 and 7 feet high. Wow! In the crop report this week, it said that in South Dakota, the average corn height is rated at 53 inches, well ahead of the five-year average of 39 inches. In Minnesota, the report that as of Sunday, July 8, the state average corn height was 68 inches, compared to 46 inches for the five-year average. That's really stretching out! We also noted that corn is tasseling, which seems really early. Those generous rain showers and the hot temperatures have made quite a difference from last year. With wet conditions, we also noticed that there are number of fields where it's hard to control the volunteer corn in soybeans. Further west, it sounds like some are still struggling with inadequate moisture. My sister Julie and her family visited from Temple, Texas. While here, they have heard that continual rain storms go through their area. They are not sure what to expect as they head home. Pre-harvest soon As we look at the great crops, here at the Farm Forum we're already looking at pulling together information for our Pre-Harvest edition that will come out on July 24. It seems early! Wheat fields will be turning soon and we want to get information out to our readers about the outlook for crops and markets as well as ways to get ready for the busy harvest season. Farmforum.net We know that many of our readers are getting news online. We continue to work to upgrade the website we have for the Farm Forum. Check us out at farmforum.net. We're working to put current and past articles on the site. While everything isn't moved over to the site from the paper pages, we're trying to get the most important details for you. Let us know what you think and if there are some ways we should change things. Call 605-622-2343 or toll-free at 1-800-925-4100, ext. 343. You can also email comments to farmforum@aberdeennews.com.